Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
The motion reads as follows:
That the committee invite Zita Astravas, Chief of Staff to the Minister of Emergency Preparedness, to appear on her own for two hours, and that she be scheduled to appear within seven days.
Minister Blair, I believe, misled this committee when he, in answer to questions around the IMU concerning MP Chong and his family, not only said that he had not received the IMU, but made the patently absurd claim that CSIS had made an operational decision not to inform him about MP Chong and the fact that he and his family were being targeted by the Beijing regime.
Minister Blair's testimony was contradicted by the director of CSIS, who said, in fact, that no such operational decision had been made. On the contrary, that information had been sent up in the form of an IMU because the fact that the Beijing regime was targeting MP Chong was a matter of particular concern.
On that basis, I think it's appropriate that the chief of staff come before our committee to answer questions about what she knows, because in the face of the minister's testimony, it is relevant to hear from her, but also on the basis that she also had received a copy of that very same IMU.
The minister and his chief of staff, I believe, have much to answer for and as a starting point we should hear from Ms. Astravas.
Now, turning to Mr. Jean, through you, Madam Chair, in your opening remarks you spoke about the Australian model. I would note that Australia has criminalized assisting a foreign intelligence service, something that Canada does not have. Do you think that such a step would be helpful in countering foreign interference?
I will give you the balance of my time to elaborate on some of the points you wish to make about the Australian model.